The Future of the News Business: Startup Week Boulder

The Future of the News Business: Startup Week Boulder

May 15, 2015 6:57 am by Boulder Channel 1, under Boulder Startup, Business, News. 0 Comments

by George Edward Hardwick and Boulder Channel 1 news staff                                              BC1 STARTUP HOME

Wednesday At 3:00 in Trident Coffee Shop (the oldest coffee shop in Boulder) Ben Markus, Steve Outing, Matt Sebastian, and Andrew Baron presented The Future of the News Business for Startup Week Boulder. They spoke in front of an audience about their current, and future vision of the news as a business, and so far from their point of view, the future looks grim for just about everybody… Except the radio. Fricken radio. Ben Markus is an author. Steve Outing is a web news consultant. Matt Sebastian is a News editor at the Daily Camera. Andrew Cohn produced Rocketboom.

It should be pointed out that none of the members of this panel are from the business side of news so their views are biased. There was no representation from TV news either.

One of their strongest selling points about the impending doom of modern print news industry, is the way they make money. Most of the money for print newspapers still comes from the paper version of their product. They said most people get their information from the internet. This is heavily disputed by statistical numbers which show millions are still watching broadcast news.
News still rely on the add banners and subscriptions for their revenue stream. As print papers become less relevant, revenue streams are drying up for the printed newspaper, and the future of written news stands on shaky ground.

Ben Markus however told us that radio news, (a.m. f.m. outlets) are experiencing a boom. Perhaps it is because of more traffic, construction, and less newspaper attention, but viewership for radio has been up. The main concern Ben had to voice was the future of how people find entertainment in their car. With manufacturers producing more and more mobile friendly audio systems, a drop in the audience of radio news stations could happen rapidly, and be pushed towards podcasts and other audio app entertainment.

Another interesting feature of the talk was everything being live streamed using an app called Meerkat. This wasn’t a paid thing, but future potential is huge. Though live streaming without any production value can be sketchy. Justin TV was a huge live streaming company but wet broke and moved into paid online gaming. Ustream and Youtube also use live streaming but neither are profitable.

What was not discussed were the successes of companies like Channel 1 Network and Boulder Channel 1 who thrive in the current atmosphere. C1N.TV says it has solved the news problem by creating local news outlets all over the world which are self sustaining.

Facebook , just this week , signed 10 major news organisations for embedded news. Facebook is a multi-billion dollar company which has the ability to prop the news industry.

TV and Cable news were left out of this discussion entirely. TV is still king by many accounts. The question is how will news media shake out in the coming years and what will be the platforms. Who will pay the reporters.

George Hardwick is blogging for Boulder Channel 1 from Boulder Startup Week invite him to parties

 Channel One Networks is a network of TV channels on the internet located in Boulder Colorado. Boulder Channel 1 is our first super channel . Each week we are adding more channels. See TV Guide . You can watch videos On Demand with the click of a button. We have a wide variety of channels to choose from just like your cable or Satellite provider accept most of our programming is free and WORLD WIDE. Some shows like our Route 66 travel series can be purchase on DVD. Music Channel 1 is very popular and we will be adding music videos On Demand. You will also, be able to see Jann Scott Live, America's most popular internet live call in talk show from cool Boulder Colorado. Purchase a Pixel: Advertisers may purchase a pixel for $1.00 and up for links, 30 second commercials. We are especially interested in programming for each Channel which has niche programming such as Resort Travel, Ski and Snowboard, Home and Garden etc. Music industry and Auto. contact@BoulderChannel1.com Public Channel: Much of our programming to artists, film makers and World producers is free. Please submit it to us in a down Loadable file. We will have a look at it and let you know. Public Broadcasting. Webmaster@BoulderChannel1.com You can also mail non commercial videos to Programming . Box 869 Boulder Colorado 80306 Link Share. We encourage everyone to include us on your site http://www.boulderchannel1.com Enjoy What all of our channels have to offer the web community world wideMore Information on all Channels: contact@BoulderChannel1.com Technical Support: Any problems with getting our channels try down loading the following free software or Webmaster@BoulderChannel1.com News Correspondents: We are looking for serious news internetcasters from Africa, Asia, South America, Europe, India, Central America, Eastern Europe, China, India, Middle East, Mexico, Antartica, Greenland and Outer Space. You must speak English, be 13 to 34 years old, Female or Male, be from the region you are reporting on, have a laptop webcam, a world map or Globe, a national flag from your country and be prepared to file a weekly 1 to 3 minute report on one of the following topics: Famon, enviroment, ecconomy, political enviroment, current events. Music, Fashion, Food. Culture Sex and relationships. Must be straight news with no leftist or rightist bent though we do like sarcasam and humor. We pay $5.00 per report and you will receive press credentials. Please send video, resume, picture to News, Box 869, Boulder, colorado 80304 or Email; contact@BoulderChannel1.com Boulders Television channel on the web. We bring you Boulder , we bring you the World. http://www.BoulderChannel1.com

Fabien Dodard and Sara Smith from Victor sPOILS

Fabien Dodard and Sara Smith from Victor

Fabien Dodard and Sara Smith from Victor & Spoils: Boulder Startup Week 2015

May 13, 2015 8:22 pm by Boulder Channel 1, under Boulder Startup, News. 0 Comments

by George Edward Hardwick
Wednesday May 13, 1015 This afternoon I went up to Spark “a Boulder co-working space  designed to connect students to the startup community.“ At 1:00 p.m Fabien Dodard and Sara Smith from Victor & Spoils were next on deck. Victor Spoils is another ad agency off shoot of  Crispin, Porter + Bogusky.  Yesterday I wrote about Made. Smith and Doddardgave a talk titled, Content Marketing and What it Can Do for You. 

In a world where everybody and their mother has a blog website, facebook page, and twitter account, standing out with a creative, provocative story is difficult. While the idea of going viral might seem impossible to the up and coming blogger, Fabieng Dodard and Sara Smith brought the concept back to its basics. This talk was based around the idea of creative marketing, and how the best way to stand out in the incredibly competitive world of creative story telling in the chaotic internet, is by sticking to the basics.

The talk was centralized around 5 main characteristics of how to tell a great story: Theme…Plot…Characters…Details…Tone.
Using the example of the viral story, “Why I Gave Up a $95,000 Job to Move to an Island and Scoop Ice Cream”, Dodard and Smith gave us the breakdown.

Theme “If you are constantly thinking you need a vacation, maybe you need a new life?”
Plot: Leaving a successful job to work as an ice cream scooper.
Characters: Islanders, Parents, Herself, and a Chicken.
Details: Chicken casually in her bathroom during a morning pee, the view, the beach, the lifestyle.
Tone: Humoristic and Genuine.

Sure, the concept is very basic. Anyone who has been through a middle school English class could roll their eyes and sarcastically repeat this outline. But Dodard and Smith’s point lifted the veil on the confounded chaos of the media. Though going viral may seem like magic, it is based around the same key characteristics that we have always been taught. In some ways, it is better not to try and re-invent the wheel. Smith and Dodard haven’t.

George Hardwick is blogging for Boulder Channel 1 from Boulder Startup Week invite him to parties